England's rioters: did many 'pillars of the community' take part?

Cases such as those of 18-year-old Chelsea Ives, an Olympics ambassador whose mother (above) left court in tears after her daughter was remanded in custody, have dominated media coverage. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

Only a small proportion of people appearing in court charged with offences committed during the riots are listed as being in work or in full-time education, according to an analysis of most of the defendants whose cases have been heard so far. Research carried out by the Guardian of around 1,000 cases going through the magistrates courts shows that just 8.6% of defendants have jobs or are students.

Yet, over the past fortnight, it has often been those with respected jobs, high-flying academic records and middle-class backgrounds who have found themselves in the media spotlight. The vast majority of those charged – young, unemployed men and boys – have made way on the front pages for professionals, pillars of the community and an 18-year-old Olympic ambassador.

Often the disparity between the defendants' crimes and their backgrounds has been enough to prompt comment in court. When Shonola Smith, 22, a model, her sister Alicia and their friend Donness Bissessar, also 22, pleaded guilty last Friday to entering an Argos in Croydon with intent to steal, their lawyer stressed their otherwise exemplary characters, telling the court: "I was taken by surprise. Talking to them and recently talking to their families, they come across as perfectly ordinary, reasonable, dare I say it civilised young women … They all work. If it all kicked off again tonight I don't for one second think you would find these ladies anywhere near."

District judge Robert Hunter, however, was not convinced. Handing down six-month jail terms to all three women, who were arrested at the scene of the looting last Monday night, he said: "The tragedy is you are all of previous good character, each well educated. You have jobs. You have shown remorse. However … you played your part in a wider act where devastation was caused to businesses and local residents." Upon hearing the verdict, Smith broke down in tears.

Such censure was also meted out to Dayle Blinkhorn, a 23-year-old full-time carer for his disabled mother, who was caught by police with a 32-inch LCD television worth £4,500. Both he and his co-defendant, apprentice plasterer John Millbanks, pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods and were remanded in custody for sentencing at Manchester crown court. District judge Alan Berg told the pair: "People like you, who have all the benefits of this country, which others in other countries would pray for – you bring shame and disgrace upon the country as a whole, and upon yourselves and your families."

Among the people taking time off from their jobs to appear in court in cities around the country was a leisure centre receptionist, an accounts clerk, a barber, a postman, a lifeguard, a scaffolder, an estate agent and at least two chefs. At London's Camberwell Green magistrates court on Wednesday, Darren Kitson, a painter and decorator from Brixton, was accused of biting a policeman's arm hard enough to pierce his protective clothing. He pleaded not guilty to burglary and two counts of actual bodily harm, and was remanded in custody until 7 September.

A handful of people had CVs that hinted at altruistic leanings. The City of Westminster magistrates court heard that graduate Natasha Reid, 24, had ambitions of becoming a social worker and handed herself in to police because she could not cope with the guilt of her looting. Reid, from Edmonton, north London, admitted stealing a £300 television from a Comet store that had been broken into.

Meanwhile, the shame of a court appearance seemed too much for one defendant, classroom assistant Alexis Bailey, who tried to hide his face with a newspaper as he left Highbury Corner magistrates in London last Wednesday. The 31-year-old, who works as a learning mentor at a primary school in Stockwell, south London, had been arrested in an electrical goods store in Croydon at the peak of the riots on Monday. He pleaded guilty to burglary with intent to steal and was released on conditional bail; the court was told he had not been seen taking any items from the store.

Others whose educational credentials did nothing to help assuage the judges' wrath included Marouane Rouhi, a 21-year-old law student who denied having been involved in rioting in St John's Wood. He claimed he had been unfairly rounded up along with youths taking part in the violence while on his way to the local mosque. He was denied bail. Pierre Wilkinson, a third-year student from Middlesex, was similarly shown no lenience: accused of stealing computers and televisions from a Panasonic shop in Ealing, he was remanded in custody for committal on 7 September.

One of the cases that attracted most attention was that of Laura Johnson, 19, an English and Italian undergraduate at the University of Exeter, who appeared in Bexleyheath magistrates court charged with five counts of burglary, to which she pleaded not guilty. Along with two others, Johnson was accused of stealing £5,000 worth of goods from the Stonelake retail park in Charlton, south London. She was granted conditional bail and will return to court on 21 September. A statement from the University of Exeter said it would await the outcome of the case before deciding whether to take any action.

Along with Johnson, two other young women found their cases attracting a good deal more publicity than many of their fellow defendants. A 17-year-old aspiring ballerina from Croydon, who cannot be named for legal reasons, handed herself in to police after she was shown on security camera footage to be among a mob that looted an electronics store and stole £190,000 worth of goods. Westminster magistrates heard that the girl, who has been dancing since the age of seven, admitted being present at the Richer Sounds store but denied stealing. She was remanded in custody and is due to appear before a youth court at a later date.

Chelsea Ives, meanwhile, an 18-year-old who had been chosen as an Olympic ambassador to meet and greet visitors during the 2012 Games, appeared at Highbury Corner magistrates court on Wednesday charged with violent disorder, attacking a police car and two counts of burglary. She denies all the charges, which stem from her alleged involvement in looting in Enfield, north London. It is alleged that she threw bricks at a police car and took part in attacks on a branch of Phones4U and a Vodafone store. District judge Nina Tempia remanded Ives in custody. Her mother, Adrienne, who reported her to the police after deciding it was the "right thing" for her to do as a parent, left the court in tears.